By Darryl Grumling
Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 2/8/10
Agnes Irwin senior midfielder Katie Nelligan has committed to play Division III lacrosse at defending national champion Franklin & Marshall.
Nelligan, an honorable mention All-Inter-Ac pick, scored 28 goals for the Owls (3-9. 5-10) last year.
“It has everything I was looking for in a college,” Nelligan said of F&M. “It has an outstanding lacrosse program, a great education and a beautiful campus.”
Under coach Lauren Paul, the Diplomats went 9-0 in the Centennial Conference and 21-1 overall last year, defeating Salisbury, 11-10, in the national final.
“I went on an official visit this past September and completely fell in love with F&M,” Nelligan said. “I felt very comfortable around the girls I met on the team. I highly admired the interaction between coach and player, and felt a connection with the other recruits.”
Nelligan, an active member of the athletic association at AIS who also swims for the varsity team, said she will explore different majors next year, including International Relations, Art and possibly Pre-Med.
She will be joined by fellow Philly recruits Ali Kelly and Amalia Antonoplos of defending state champ Radnor at F&M. Philly grads Casey Downey (The Hill School), Maggie Mae Shields (Baldwin School), Meredith Lussier (Radnor), Kelley Moore (Episcopal Academy) and Rebecca Foley (Penn Charter) are on the Diplomats’ roster.
Nelligan, who has played for the Phantastix lacrosse club team for three years and played for the Philly 2 team at the National Tournament in May, will serve as co-captain at Agnes Irwin this season.
“I have high hopes for our team this year,” Nelligan said. “We have a new coach (Kirah Miles George) and are completely revamping our program, which I think can only make us better. Our team is young, talented and motivated.”
